Well, I thought I was going to just post this photo and leave it at that… no such luck.

My inspiration for this collage was thinking about how ridiculous this all seems — chicken sandwiches vs. gay marriage vs. Muppets vs. Huckabee vs. the mayor of Boston, with some scouts thrown in for good measure. Yet regardless of the silliness of this cultural cockfight, same-sex marriage is obviously an important issue to me. And obviously to a lot of people, based on the amount of discussion it’s sparked in real life and on the Interwebs.

Full disclosure: I began frequenting Chick-Fil-A during my stint in Texas, then stopped going several years ago…but for gastronomical reasons more than any other. The company has every right to sponsor Christian organizations, close on Sundays, dress up cows in sandwich boards. But someone over there is going out of their way to make sure I’m not able to marry my partner of 15 years, preventing us and our son from having all the legal benefits — not to mention social acceptance — straight couples and their children are allowed. And that deserves a response.

MY RESPONSE:

Starting now and through midnight on August 1, for every comment I get on this post, plus every like / comment / forward on Facebook, reply / retweet / favorite on Twitter, and every like / comment on Instagram, I’ll donate a dollar to Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the organization working toward equal marriage in my home state. And while you’re at it, please consider making a donation yourself.

I don’t know if it’s what Jesus would do, but it sure beats fighting the crowds for a cheap chicken sandwich.

As ludicrous as the arguments against same sex marriage are on their own, your collage highlights the utter lunacy of the supposed “debate” on the issue. For me, it’s simply a question of fairness. To oppose is to confer second class citizenship on many of my fellow Americans and that will never be okay with me.

Ray:
Thanks for your comment (and your support!) Luckily, since this bizarre incident with Chik-Fil-A, my state has legalized same-sex marriage. While I’m excited for the outcome, having my rights voted on by my fellow Marylanders was quite harrowing and unnerving. That it had to be debated or voted on IS lunacy. But that seems to be the only way to bring about change.
Brent

That’s awesome. I wrote a post about Chick-Fil-A last year, and it became a little controversial, but most of the responses were positive. Basically, I also agree a restaurant has every right to support bigots in this country and abroad, but I don’t want to see that cow in my kid’s school. I wrote the post after I got the principal to promise me they would not do fund-raisers with the anymore, and would not allow the cow or any other commercial mascot to come to the school.